Prefabricated sanitary unit

ABSTRACT

A PREFABRICATED SANITARY UNIT IS BASED ON A MAIN STRUCTURAL MEMBER IN THE FORM OF A ROTATABLE PLATFORM. AT LEAST ONE VERTICAL PARTITION ON THE PLATFORM SPATIALLY SEPARATES A PLURALITY OF COMPARTMENTS, AND A SANITARY FITTING IS INSTALLED IN EACH COMPARTMENT. THE SANITARY FITTINGS ARE PLUMBED INTO A COMMON DISCHARGE PIPE WHICH IS COAXIAL WITH THE AXIS OF ROTATION OF THE PLATFORM. ON ROTATION OF THE PLATFORM EACH SANITARY FITTING IS IN TURN BROUGHT TO A COMMON POSITION PERMITTING ACCESS TO THE FITTING FOR USE. ARRANGEMENTS ARE MADE TO SUPPLY WATER TO THE FITTINGS AS NECESSARY. THE FITTINGS ARE PREFERABLY A WATER CLOSET AND A BIDET, AND A SHOIWER AND WASH BASIN MAY ALSO BE PROVIDED.

Sept. 21, 1971 Y l R. BUCHER 3,606,616

PREFABRIGATEDV SANITARY UNIT Filed April 8. 1970 3 Sheets-Sheet l Sept.21, 1971 R. BUCHER PREFABRICATED SANITARY UNIT Filed April 8. 1970 3Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR RENE BUCHER Sept. 21, 1971 R, BUCHER 3,606,616

PREFABRICATED SANITARY UNIT Filed April 8, 1970 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 UnitedStates Patent O 3,606,616 PREFABRICATED SANITARY UNIT Rene Bucher,Stockackerstrasse 17, Reinach, Switzerland Filed Apr. 8, 1970, Ser. No.26,679 Claims priority, application Switzerland, Apr. 15, 1969, 5,657/69 Int. Cl. A47k 4/00 U.S. Cl. 4 2 9 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE Aprefabricated sanitary unit is based on a main structural member in theform of a rotatable platform. At least one vertical partition on theplatform spatially separates a plurality of compartments, and a sanitaryfitting is installed in each compartment. The sanitary fittings areplumbed into a common discharge pipe which is coaxial with the axis ofrotation of the platform. On rotation of the platform each sanitaryfitting is in turn brought to a common position permitting access to thefitting for use. Arrangements are made to supply Water to the fittingsas necessary. The fittings are preferably a water closet and a bidet,and a shower and wash basin may also be provided.

BACKGROUND oF THE INVENTION This invention relates to a prefabricatedsanitary unit comprising a plurality of sanitary fittings.

In many cases when modern dwellings are planned, only a relatively smallamount of space is available for bathrooms, in which space only a fewsanitary fittings can be accommodated. On the other hand, there isgrowing need for better equipped bathrooms which, apart from containinga bath, a water closet and a wash basin, also contain for example ashower and a bidet for which there is, however, usually not sufiicientspace. The ever-increasing production of prefabricated houses, and theextensive modernisation of existing dwellings and hotels has set up ademand for prefabricated sanitary units and particularly bathrooms whichcan, if required, be built into the dwellings or hotel rooms at a laterstage either as finished units or in separate parts.

It has been previously proposed to make use of a certain amount ofprefabrication in constructing sanitary units. For example, Frenchpatent specification No. 1,389,550 proposes to install a sanitaryfitting so that it can be swung about a column and under a wash basin.German Patent No. 1,007,006 proposes to accommodate two sanitaryfittings in a recess. One of the fittings, namely a W.C. pan, is swungout for use by opening one half of the door, whilst the second fitting,a wash basin is secured to the second half of the door and can be swungout for use independently of the W.C. pan. The main aim of these priorproposals is to accommodate a number of sanitary fittings in such amanner that when they are not required for use they are stacked oneabove the other, and can each be swung out into a position in which theyare used.

It is an object of the invention to provide a prefabricated sanitaryunit comprising a plurality of sanitary fittings.

It is a further object of the invention to provide a prefabricatedsanitary unit comprising a plurality of sanitary fittings in which thearrangement and disposition of the fittings is such as to render eachfitting readily accessible for use when required.

It is a still further object of the invention to provide a prefabricatedsanitary unit which accommodates, in a space-saving manner, the largestpossible number of individual sanitary fittings.

Yet another object of the invention is to provide a 3,606,616 PatentedSept. 21, 1971 sanitary unit comprising a plurality of sanitaryfittings, which can be prefabricated in the factory and readilyinstalled on site.

Still another object of the present invention is to provide aprefabricated sanitary unit comprising a plurality of sanitary fittings,in which the individual fittings are not arranged in a stack one abovethe other and have each to be brought into position for use, whenrequired, by swinging the fittings individually, but is each installedin an individual compartment.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The invention provides a prefabricated sanitaryunit comprising at least two sanitary fittings, structural meanscarrying said fitting, said fittings being plumbed into said structuralmeans, means mounting said structural means for rotation about asubstantially vertical axis such that said fittings participate in therotation about said axis, and at least one partition included in saidstructural means to partition said sanitary fittings from each otherwhereby on rotation of said structural means each said sanitary fittingis brought in turn into a common position permitting access to thefitting for use.

An important advantage of the invention is seen in tha each sanitaryfitting is partitioned off from the others and is thus presented in asubstantially enclosed compartment adapted for the particular purpose,which compartment can be brought as a whole into the position for use,whilst the compartment which was previously in that position disappearsinto an inaccessible position. Preferably, the prefabricated sanitaryunit is constructed on the basis of a rotatable platform, and partitionsare structurally connected to the platform to define and separate thecompartments for the individual sanitary fittings, and partitions thusrotating with the platform.

A further feature of the invention provides for the sanitary fittingseach to be plumbed to a common discharge pipe which rotates with theplatform about the substantially vertical axis.

There is considerable choice in selecting the sanitary fittings whichare to be provided in the unit.

Preferably, however, it is thought convenient to provide a water closetand a bidet. Additional fittings, such as a shower and/ or a wash basin,may be added as desired.

The partitions which are provided to separate the sanitary fittings fromeach other are preferably made sufficiently high that the compartmentsare completely separate from each other spatially.

By way of example, the accompanying drawings illustrate, in schematicform, two preferred embodiments of the invention.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING.

FIG. 1 is a side elevational View, partly in section, ofa aprefabricated sanitary unit in accordance with the invention installedin a bathroom;

FIG. 2 is a plan View of the prefabricated sanitary unit and bathroomillustrated in FIG. l; and

FIG. 3 is a plan view of another embodiment of prefabricated sanitaryunit according to the invention.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT FIGS. 1 and 2 illustrate aprefabricated sanitary unit in accordance with one embodiment of thisinvention after the installation of the unit in a bathroom containing vabath 1 which forms no part of the subject matter of the invention. Thesanitary fittings incorporated in this ernbodiment include a watercloset (W.C.) pan 2 and a bidet 3. The W.C. pan 2 and the bidet 3 aremounted` on a rotatable platform which constitutes a principalstructural member of the prefabricated sanitary unit. The rotatableplatform is supported on a suitable bearing means, for example a ballbearing unit 5, for rotation about a vertical axis. As Will beappreciated, on rotation thereof the platform carries the W.C. pan 2 andbidet 3 round with it. The W.C. pan 2 and bidet 3 are plumbed to acommon discharge pipe 4 which is coaxial with and rotatable on thevertical axis of rotation of the platform. The discharge pipe 4 isconnected to a vertical drainage pipe 7 by means of a stationary elbow6. The W.C. pan 2 and the -bideti3 are separated from each other by avertical partition 11 which is structurally connected to the rotatableplatform. The partition 11 is high enough to completely separate theW.C. pan 2 and bidet 3 spatially from each other, each being provided ina substantially spatially separate individual compartment.

Two Water cisterns 8 are mounted on the partition 11, one for the bidet3 and one for the W.C. pan 2. A flushing lever 8a is provided and eachcistern contains a oat 40 to control filling of the cisterns with Waterwhich is supplied from a cold water pipe 21 through a water inlet 41coaxial with the axis of rotation of the rotatable platform. One of thecisterns 8 is connected through a pipe 9 to a W.C. pan 2, and the otheris connected through a pipe 10 to the bidet 3. A discharge opening inthe W.C. pan 2 is indicated in FIG. 2 by the reference 2a, and that inbidet 3 by the reference 3a. To make good use of the space available, awall cistern 12 is fitted above the unit.

The bathroom in which the Prefabricated sanitary unit of this embodimentof this invention is installed has a wall 25. The room is divided by adoor 29 and also has two other doors 28 and 30 leading to the outside.The doors 28 and 29 are both hinged at 31 and can be swung in thedirections of the arrows 32 and 33 respectively, Whilst the door 30 ishinged at 34 and can be swung open in the direction of the arrow 35.

FIGS. 1 and 2 show the prefabricated sanitary unit with the W.C. pian 2in the position in which access to the pan 2 can be had from thebathroom to use the pan. By turning the rotatable platform through 180the bidet 3 is brought into the position occupied vby the W.C. pan 2 inFIGS. l and 2 so that access can be had to the bidet 3 for use. Sincethe W.C. pan 2 and the bidet 3 cannot be used at the same time, thearrangement of these two sanitary fittings on the Prefabricated sanitaryunit according to he present invention effects a saving of approximatelyone half of the space normally required for installing these twosanitary fittings. The unit can be equipped with a motor and suitablecontrol means not illustrated, for-rotating the rotatable platform asrequired so as to bring the bidet 3 or the W.C. pan 2 into position foruse. The bidet and the W.C. pan can, of course, be arranged on therotatable platform in such a Way that these ttings are accessible byrotating the platform through angles of less than 180.

The bath 1 is separated from the prefabricated sanitary `unit by apartition Wall 17 which preferably forms part ofthe unit. The bathroomis ventilated through a duct 42 connected to two suction ports 43 and44. The bath 1 is itself connected to the drainage pipe 7 by way of aU-trap 16 and a pipe 15. A wash basin 22, fitted with taps one of vwhichis shown at 23, and a drain pipe 24, can also be shown in FIG. 3. Therotatable platform in this embodiment has a vertical partition 49 whichseparates two com- 4 partments 46 and 47. The W.C. pan 53 and the bidet54 are contained in one compartment 46 and are separated from each otherby a further partition 51 which subdivides this compartment into two. Inthe other compartment 47 is the shower 48. A common discharge pipe forthe fittings is shown at 52. Hot and cold water for the fittings aresupplied through two down-pipes (not shown in the drawing) which aredisposed concentrically and coaxially with the axis of rotation. Thesanitary unit illustrated in FIG. 3 also comprises a vVentilating duct50 and a wash basin 55. In the position shown, the shower 48 iSaccessible. When the platform is rotated through 135 in the clockwisedirection, the bidet 54 becomes accessible, and further rotation ofmakes the W.C. pan 53 accessible. It is, of course, also possible to useany other combination of sanitary fittings and to arrange these fittingsin any other relative angular displacement, for example, at adisplacement of In this embodiment a motor can also be used for turningthe rotatable platform.

Furthermore, it will be understood that instead of providing two orthree sanitary fittings as in the embodiment particularly described,four or more fittings can be provided as required. It will thus beappreciated that the description of the preferred embodiments is givenfor purposes of illustration only, and that the invention can beembodied in other forms Within the spirit and scope of the amendedclaims.

I claim:

1. A prefabricated sanitary unit comprising at least two sanitaryfittings, structural means carrying said fittings, said fittings beingplumbed into said structural means, means mounting said structural meansfor rotation about a substantially vertical axis such that said fittingsparticipate in the rotation about said axis, and at least one partitionincluded in said structural means to partition said sanitary fittingsfrom each other whereby on rotation of said structural means each saidsanitary tting is brought in turn into a common position permittingaccess to the fitting for use.

2. A prefabricated sanitary unit as claimed in claim 1, comprising acommon discharge pipe to which said sanitary fittings are plumbed, andwherein said pipe rotates with said structural means about saidsubstantially vertical axis.

3. A prefabricated sanitary unit as claimed in claim 1, wherein said atleast two sanitary fittings comprise a Water closet and a bidet.

4. A Prefabricated sanitary unit as claimed in claim 3, wherein saidunit further comprises a shower.

5. A prefabricated sanitary unit as claimed in claim 3, wherein saidunit' further comprises a Wash basin.

6. A prefabricated sanitary unit as claimed in claim 1, wherein said atleast one partition is of a height to completely separate said sanitaryfittings from each other spatially.

7. A prefabricated sanitary unit as claimed in claim 1, wherein saidstructural means comprises a rotatable platform.

S. A prefabricated sanitary unit as claimed in claim 3, furthercomprising flushing cistern means for said water closet and bidet.

9. A prefabricated sanitary unit as claimed in claim 1, furthercomprising ventilation duct means.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS ROBERT G. NILSON, PrimaryExaminer U.S. Cl. XR. 4-6

